Draft Base Law on Environment 20 September 2011 Page 1Unofficial machine translation from Portuguese by La

’

o Hamutuk

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF TIMOR-LESTE

BASE LAW

ON ENVIRONMENT

Explanatory memorandum

Having the need for conservation and environmental protection as a duty of states, the IVConstitutional Government recognizes the importance of creating an environmental legal systemcapable of defining the principles and rules of conservation and environmental protection,sustainable use of natural resources and environmental management in a global and integratedapproach that protects the fundamental rights of citizens of Timor-Leste.With an expanding market economy, the environment and natural resources represent an importantsource of wealth and support economic growth and survival of communities. However, both requirebalanced and sustainable management that can provide citizens with more and better quality of lifewithin a sustainable development framework.The right to a clean and healthy environment is a universally recognized human right, and in thisfield, the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, environmental protection faces adual perspective, considering it as a fundamental task of the state, and simultaneously as afundamental right of citizens.Thus, Article 6of the Constitution of the Republic states that a key objective of the State isenvironmental protection and preservation of natural resources. Article 61, in turn, reiterates thisgoal and specifies that the State should promote actions to protect and safeguard the environment,recognizing, on one side the right of all citizens to safe, healthy and ecologically balanced humanlife, specifying the duty incumbent on all to conserve and protect the environment for futuregenerations.At the international level, Timor-Leste has ratified a series of international conventions such as theUnited Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol, the InternationalConvention to Combat Desertification, the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Convention ofVienna for Protection of the Ozone Layer and its Montreal Protocol. It is now recognized, so theresponsibility falls on the state to implement obligations under these international instruments.The approval of the Base Law on Environment is therefore necessary to establish a legal frameworkthat responds to the constitutional imperative of environmental protection and internationalresponsibilities simultaneously assumed by the state.We also heard representatives of national and international associations for defense andconservation of the environment, advisors, and national and international experts, relevantministries, various officials and leaders of public administration, and also carried out a publicconsultation process in the districts.Thus,The National Parliament decrees, pursuant to Article 96.1(h) of the Constitution, to serve as Law,the following:

Draft Base Law on Environment 20 September 2011 Page 2Unofficial machine translation from Portuguese by La

’

o Hamutuk

CHAPTER IGeneral ProvisionsArticle 1Definitions

For purposes of interpretation and application of this Act, the following definitions are adopted, forthe words and concepts used in its statement:a) Activity: Any action by public or private initiative, relating to exploration or the use ofenvironmental components, the application of technologies or processes, policies, legislation,regulations, plans or programs that affect or could affect the environment.b) Environment: the set of physical, chemical and biological systems, and their relations with theeconomic, social and cultural factors, with direct or indirect effect, mediated or immediate, onliving and quality of human life.c) Protected Area: an area of land or sea especially dedicated to the protection and maintenanceof biological diversity, natural resources and associated cultural resources, managed throughlegal or other effective means.d) Strategic Environmental Assessment: a preventive instrument of environmental policy,supported and carried out by studies, consultation and assessment tools and environmentalmanagement that is aimed at decision-making on environmental sustainability andimplementation of certain projects.e) Biodiversity: the diversity among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrialecosystems, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which theyare part, including diversity within species, between species and ecosystems.f) Environmental components: are the various elements that make up the environment and whoseinteraction allows balance, including air, water, soil, subsoil, living beings, renewable and non-renewable natural resources, and socio-economic conditions.g) Degradation or environmental damage: is the adverse change in the characteristics of theenvironment, and includes, among others, pollution, desertification, erosion and deforestation.h) Sustainable development is development based on effective environmental management thatmeets the needs of the present generation without compromising the environmental balanceand the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.i) Ecosystem: a dynamic complex of plant, animal and micro-organisms and their nonlivingenvironment interacting as a functional unit. j) Erosion is the detachment of the soil surface by the natural action of wind or water, which canbe intensified by human practices of removing vegetationk) Environmental management is the planned, coordinated and directed process to making andimplementing decisions to regulate the interaction of humans with the natural environment toensure sustainable use of environmental components, due to protection of endangered speciesand their habitats and sustainable economic development.l) Habitat: any place or location that offers climate, physical and food conditions for reproductionand development of organisms and their populations.m) Environmental impact: a set of positive and negative changes produced in the environment,social and environmental parameters, including people and their economic and social structures,air, water, flora, fauna or their habitats in a given period of time and a particular area, resultingfrom the implementation of a project, compared with the situation that would have occurredduring this period of time in this area if the project had not been implemented.n) Spatial planning is the integrated process of organizing biophysical space, aiming to use andtransform the territory according to their capacity, vocations, maintaining the values of biologicalequilibrium and geological stability, with a view to maintaining and increasing its ability tosupport life.

Draft Base Law on Environment 20 September 2011 Page 3Unofficial machine translation from Portuguese by La

’

o Hamutuk

o) Environmental emission standards: the set of rules that define the maximum amount of apollutant that can be discharged from a single fixed or mobile source.p) Environmental quality standards: the set of rules that define the maximum allowableconcentration levels of pollutants allowed to environmental components.q) Pollution: the introduction as a direct or indirect result of human activity, of substances,vibrations, heat, light or noise in environmental components that could harm human health orthe quality of the environment, result in damage to property, impair or affect the use andenjoyment and other legitimate uses of the environment.r) Genetic resources: This includes any material of plant, animal, microorganism or other origin,that have functional units of heredity of actual or potential value.s) Natural resources: includes all living and nonliving components existing in the ecosystem.t) Nonrenewable natural resources: includes all living and nonliving components existing in theecosystem with finite nature and not subject to regeneration within a relevant time period forhumans.u) Repair, rehabilitation, or restoration of environmental damage or degradation, including anyactivities to restore the environmental conditions existing prior to the determination ofdegradation or damage to environmental components.v) Hazardous waste is waste whose flammable, explosive, corrosive, toxic, infectious, radioactive,or other characteristics constitute a danger to human health and the environment.w) Waste: includes any waste, substances and / or material objects considered useless,superfluous, and / or no value, generated by human activity, commercial and industrial areasthey need to be eliminated.x) Pollutants: are any gases and waste, including hazardous, which can temporarily or irreversiblyalter the natural characteristics and qualities of the environment, interfere with their normalmaintenance or evolution or have any harmful effect.y) Tara Bandu: it is a customary part of the culture of Timor-Leste, which regulates the relationshipbetween people and the environment around them.z) Sustainable use: the use of environmental components in a balanced way, able to effectivelymeet the needs of present generations without compromising the balance of the environmentand the possibility of future generations to meet their own needs.

Article 2Purpose

This law defines the framework of environmental policy, the guiding principles for the conservationand environmental protection and conservation and sustainable use of natural resources to promotequality of life of citizens.

Article 3Scope

1. This law and other environmental legislation are applicable throughout the national territory,including the land area, inland waters, territorial sea, the airspace over the territorial sea, as wellas to its bed and subsoil and the Exclusive Economic Zone.2. This law applies to natural and legal persons, national, international or stateless persons,residing or engaged in activities in Timor-Leste, including public entities.

Article 4Objectives

The State is responsible to promote a healthy and ecologically balanced environment conducive tohuman health and well-being, and the preservation and sustainable use of natural resources, thedefinition and implementation of environmental policy, legislation, programs, plans and projectswhich aim, respectively at: